Author: Shaun Al-Shatti

At least on the promotional side, few fighters have ever attacked Ronda Rousey quite like Bethe Correia did before UFC 190. Correia’s infamous ‘suicide‘ remark set a tone that stretched well into fight week, and her constant trash talk against the UFC’s women’s bantamweight champion became a driving narrative of the pay-per-view.

Of course, all of that chatter culminated in just 34 seconds of actual fight time. As she’s wont to do, Rousey made Correia pay for her words, knocking the Brazilian out cold in front of her countrymen in Rio de Janeiro with one of the most visceral finishes we’ve seen from the division in some time.

And Rousey’s likely next challenger, Miesha Tate, wasn’t surprised to see how it all played out.

“Bethe is a really hard person for me to read, and I don’t know if partially it was because of the language barrier, but I didn’t really understand her tactics of wanting to attack Ronda so much,” Tate said Tuesday on The MMA Hour. “If there’s any time where I felt, actually, kind of bad for Ronda, like kind of sympathized with her, it was in this fight, because I really thought that Bethe overstepped some personal boundaries that she just shouldn’t.”

Tate has faced Rousey twice before, and while plenty of animosity still lingers between the two sides, Tate has never made things as personal as Correia did when she involved the suicide of Rousey’s father in the promotion of the fight, regardless of whether it was a deliberate act on Correia’s part or not.

“Ronda and I are probably never going to get along, we’re probably never going to be friends necessarily, but there’s a certain amount of respect that I think [fighters] should have for each other,” Tate said. “As fighters, if nothing more, have that amount of respect for each other. No matter how much you dislike someone, there are personal lines you just don’t cross. I think Bethe did that, and so I think she got what was coming to her.”

Rousey’s crushing knockout of Correia will now go down as an iconic moment in the young champion’s career. Rather than relying on her Olympic judo, Rousey tested Correia at the Brazilian’s own game, swarming her with punches before face-planting Correia on the mat with a right hand.

After talking such a big game, the performance from Correia left Tate unimpressed, to say the least.

“I’m not trying to be rude, I’m just trying to be honest,” Tate said. “I really don’t think that she is that good yet. I think she really was more full of herself than anything else, and she was really trying to hype herself. I give her all the credit in the world for really trying to get her head in the game. I think she had every intention of going out there and winning, and I think she really believed it. But I think, like I said, she was just treading in too deep of water and was just in over her head.

“Screaming at Ronda and acting like that, acting kind of childish and a little bit arrogant, it wasn’t going to help. Like, ‘this girl is really, really asking for it. It’s going to be a painful night for her.'”

A meeting between women’s bantamweight contenders Julianna Pena and Jessica Eye is slated for Oct. 3 at UFC 192. The UFC confirmed the bout Tuesday following an initial report by ESPN.

Pena (6-2), the former underdog winner of The Ultimate Fighter 18, persevered through one of the grisliest knee injuries the sport has seen in recent memory to make her triumphant return with a first-round stoppage of Milana Dudieva at UFC Fight Night 63.

The 25-year-old is currently ranked No. 11 on the UFC’s media-generated women’s bantamweight rankings. Known as “The Venezuelan Vixen,” Pena finished Team Rousey No. 1 pick Shayna Baszler, Sarah Moras, and former champion boxer Jessica Rakoczy in 2013 to become the first female TUF winner in the series’ history.

She now faces a giant leap towards contendership, but only if she gets past Eye (11-3, 1 NC).

The 29-year-old native of Cleveland lost a hard-fought decision to Miesha Tate in a bantamweight title eliminator at UFC on FOX 16, halting a run to the belt that began with a bloody victory over Leslie Smith.

Regardless of the loss, Eye remains the No. 6 ranked female bantamweight in the UFC. She dropped a split decision to Alexis Davis and fought to a no contest against Sarah Kaufman due to a failed drug test for marijuana metabolites in her two other Octagon appearances.

UFC 192 takes place at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX. Light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier looks to defend his title against Alexander Gustafsson in the night’s main event.

An updated UFC 192 fight card can be seen below.

• Daniel Cormier vs. Alexander Gustafsson
• Rashad Evans vs. Ryan Bader
• Julianna Pena vs. Jessica Eye
• Shawn Jordan vs. Ruslan Magomedov
• Yair Rodriguez vs. Daniel Hooker

It’s been over a year since Duane Ludwig left his post as head coach of Team Alpha Male, and frankly, Chad Mendes is sick of hearing about it.

Ludwig, who continues to coach UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw, ignited a minor furor in July when he said that Dillashaw was the only one on the Sacramento-based squad “who actually wants to be champion.” Ludwig ultimately apologized for his comments, but still reiterated that there was something different about Dillashaw from the rest of Team Alpha Male, and the only thing separating Mendes from his dreams of gold is three simple points to his game that Ludwig could fix.

“I don’t know what the hell Duane is talking about,” Mendes said Tuesday on The MMA Hour. “I’m tired of hearing about Duane and him ruling our team. Duane came here to Team Alpha Male for a short amount of time, and Duane did what he did, but I’d say 95-percent of our wins when he was here we would’ve won anyway.

“Duane was the type of guy who brought a new style to our team, but we have such a unique team, everybody is such high-level athletes that anybody can come to this team with a new style, and we’re going to pick it up, we’re going to learn it and we’re going to use it in fights. So we made Duane. We put Duane on the map. Before that, Duane was a fighter who fought in the UFC who most people didn’t even know about.”

Ludwig joined Team Alpha Male in late 2012 and received widespread acclaim for his work with the squad, even winning Coach of the Year honors at the 2013 World MMA Awards. The team experienced a memorable run of success under his leadership, one which culminated in its first ever UFC championship when Dillashaw upset Renan Barao to claim the bantamweight title.

Tensions between Ludwig and team leader Urijah Faber eventually led to Ludwig’s departure in mid-2014, and while he left on largely good terms with a majority of the team, that relationship has taken a hit over the past few months.

“When he got the offer, he basically said it’s like coming to a garage full of Ferraris and Lamborghinis,” Mendes said. “He’s going to fine tune some things and those cars are going to run like hell. That’s basically how it was. Duane had a new system that we hadn’t seen yet and that’s why things were so fun and everyone got along. Then some crazy, weird s**t happened between him and Faber, and Duane started attacking all of us in the media.

“It just sucks. It’s something that really bummed me out because I liked Duane a lot, and I felt like him as a person, him as a coach, it was good until all of this stuff started happening, and then him taking digs at all of us. It’s just something that I’m sick of and I want out of my life. Duane’s not a part of Team Alpha Male. This is a team that I’m going to be a part of until I’m completely done fighting and probably after I’m done fighting. This is where I started, this is where I’m going to end, this is what’s made me who I am today as a fighter, and I owe everything to Team Alpha Male.

“Duane was a small, tiny, little part of that, and I just hate that so many people are assuming that Duane completely made our team. I’m just tired of hearing it.”

Mendes suffered a short notice loss to Conor McGregor in his most recent outing at UFC 189, pushing his record in UFC title bouts to 0-3. Ludwig said previously that he believes Mendes would’ve won the fight had he been “in shape” or training with him, adding that the only thing separating Mendes and fellow Team Alpha Male contender Joseph Benavidez from accomplishing what Dillashaw has done is “a little more focus and desire.”

Mendes, not surprisingly, took exception to those comments, but noted that the team has made a point of talking things out among themselves, rather than letting their back-and-forth with Ludwig start any in-fighting in the halls of Team Alpha Male.

“I don’t think it’s getting weird,” Mendes said. “I know T.J. is going to train with him probably forever, there’s guys like Danny (Castillo) who are going to train with him. There’s certain guys who just like working out with him. I’m not one of those guys. I like my system here. Like I said, Team Alpha Male and what we’ve done here is what’s made me a fighter, and Duane’s training was just a tiny, little part of that.

“For him to say that if I would’ve worked with him, I’d be champion? That, to me, is a dig at me. That’s disrespectful and I don’t think that’s true. I did work with him. I’m not a champion. For him, his three things, I don’t know what the hell he’s talking about, and like I said, to me it’s disrespectful, and I’m just tired of hearing about it.”

The already stacked UFC featherweight division just added another contender to its mix, as top-10 ranked lightweight Myles Jury announced Monday that he is dropping down to 145 pounds.

Jury (15-1) is currently the No. 8 ranked 155-pounder in the UFC. He joined the promotion in 2012 following a stint on The Ultimate Fighter 15 and quickly found success, winning his first six fights inside the Octagon. His run included decision victories over Michael Johnson and Diego Sanchez, as well as a blistering knockout of Pride legend Takanori Gomi.

Jury, 26, parlayed that momentum into a shot at title contention at UFC 182, but ultimately saw his streak end with a crushing defeat at the hands of Donald Cerrone. He hasn’t competed since, having withdrawn from a scheduled bout against former UFC champion Anthony Pettis in May due to injury.

Jury is expected to return to action later this year, and when he does so, his weight won’t be the only thing different.

Along with his drop down to featherweight, the native Californian also announced a switch in camps from San Diego’s Alliance MMA to Gilbert, AZ’s Power MMA.

Jury is expected to make the transition to Arizona along with former Bellator champion Michael Chandler, Johnny Case, Justin Lawrence, and Luis Saldana.

Power MMA is led by a trio of former Arizona State University standout wrestlers — ranked UFC fighters Ryan Bader and C.B. Dollaway, and retired UFC veteran Aaron Simpson. With their help, Jury hopes to make a mark on a weight class that is already flush with rising contenders.

Lightweight veteran Roger Huerta reenters the fray on Sept. 1 when he takes on former title challenger Koji Ando at ONE Championship 30.

Huerta (22-7-1, 1 NC), once a burgeoning star in the UFC, returned to the division where he was most successful and resumed his winning ways last August when he picked up a devastating first-round TKO over Christian Holley. The victory snapped a four-fight slump for “El Matador,” and the 32-year-old appears to be primed to make a run at title contention under the ONE Championship banner.

Over the course of 15 months from 2006 to 2007, Huerta won six straight fights at 155 pounds to start his UFC career. The memorable run culminated in Huerta becoming the first MMA fighter ever to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated for his win over Leonard Garcia. Huerta hit a rough patch in his life after that, but he has since rebounded under the watch of Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, Thailand.

Now he’ll get back in action against Ando (11-4-2), a Japanese veteran who dropped a decision to ONE Championship lightweight titleholder Shinya Aoki in May. The setback snapped a five-fight win streak for Ando, one which included a pair of finishes over Rafael Nunes and Zorobabel Moreira inside the ONE Championship cage.

ONE Championship 30 takes place at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China. Middleweight champion Igor Svirid is expected to collided against undefeated challenger Vitaly Bigdas in the night’s main event.

“We are excited to make our mark in Shanghai this September as we bring the best local and international fighters once again to mainland China,” ONE Championship CEO Victor Cui stated. “This card is headlined by a ONE middleweight world championship title bout and it will be very exciting to see our Kazakhstani world champion defend his title.

“We also have a roster of the best international fighters showcasing their talents in the ONE cage such as Roger Huerta, Dae Hwan Kim, and Kotetsu Boku. Also, our female MMA warriors will show combat sport fans around the world what women can do inside the cage. Local flyweights will also be competing to be the best and the chance to be the winner of our ONE Shanghai flyweight tournament.”

An updated ONE Championship 30 fight card can be seen below.

• Igor Svirid vs. Vitaly Bigdash
• Roger Huerta vs. Koji Ando
• Dae Hwan Kim vs. Koetsu Okazaki
• Kotetsu Boku vs. Major Overall
• Angela Lee vs. Elena Pashnina
• Jumayi Ayideng vs. LiGe Teng
• Rige Hu vs. Xiao Yang Liu*
• Li Gao Yang vs. Wang Ya Yong*
• Yang Jian Bing vs. Wan Jian Ping**

*Flyweight tournament semifinal

**Flyweight tournament alternate

Welterweight headliner Jake Shields is among four fighters who face potential six-month medical suspensions in the aftermath of Saturday night’s World Series of Fighting 22 event, the Nevada Athletic Commission announced Monday.

Shields, who lost his title bid to WSOF welterweight champion Rousimar Palhares in controversial fashion, will be required to seek medical clearance on his right shoulder and right knee, along with ophthalmological clearance on both of his eyes, or be forced to sit out until Feb. 2016.

The suspensions aren’t a surprise, as Shields was transported the hospital with his arm in a sling and complaints of blurred vision following his foul-laden loss to Palhares.

Aside from Shields, three other fighters on the card face upwards of six months on the sidelines due to injuries suffered during their respective bouts. That list is as follows: WSOF bantamweight champion Marlon Moraes (nose), Abubakar Nurmagomedov (right foot), and Gil Guardado (nose).

WSOF 22 took place Aug. 1 at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The night’s main card aired live on NBC Sports Network.

A complete list of WSOF 22 medical suspensions can be found below.

• Jake Shields: Requires orthopedic clearance on right shoulder and right knee, as well as ophthalmological clearance or no contest until 02/01/16; no contact regardless until 09/01/15 due to left eyebrow laceration
• Marlon Moraes: Requires x-ray of nose, if positive then must be cleared by doctor or no contest until 02/01/16
• Abubakar Nurmagomedov: Requires x-ray of right foot, if positive then must be cleared by doctor or no contest until 02/01/16
• Gil Guardado: Requires fractured nose to be cleared by doctor or no contest until 02/01/16; minimum suspension no contest until 09/16/15, no contact until 09/01/15
• Jorge Moreno: Suspended until 09/16/15, no contact until 09/01/15 due to right eyelid laceration
• Jimmy Spicuzza: Suspended until 09/01/15, no contact until 08/23/15
• David Clark: Requires follow-up with primary doctor regarding possible anemia after this fight and must submit new blood test results before next fight